Page 14 of Castaway Whirlwind
Oh, I’m definitely going to kill him now.Her parents, too.“That’s illegal.”
“Not in Texas.”
“Well, then it should be! That motherfucker—she wasn’t even old enough to drive and he was a grown man!”
“Preaching to the choir.” Jared hesitates, then says, “There’s more. She thought they’d been going fifty-fifty on the bills.”
I’m gonna kill him twice over. Steven makes a good living at Berenson, enough for them to get by on his salary alone if they live within their means, which is why I never fired him. All her money should have been going toward savings—school, a good car, medical expenses—and then put toward their future.
Jared clenches the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white, just as pissed. “She talked to the landlord who owns the house. Told him she needed to take her name off the lease. Found out Steven’s been telling her the rent is higher than it is, so she’s been paying the majority of it. Most of the bills are in his name, not hers, so who knows how many others he’s been lying about.”
I can’t take hearing any more. “Hit the fucking gas, Jared.”
“Nah, man. I’ve got a baby on the way. Violet will bring me back from the dead if we wreck, just so she can kill me all overagain.”
The father in me approves. The animal in me rages.
“Shit, Russell. Gonna have a heart attack if you don’t calm down.”
Lordy, I try. In and out, big, deep breaths. “It ain’t working.”
“Yeah, no shit.” He keeps looking between me and the road, nudging the gas pedal until we’re goingfiveover the speed limit. Goddamn responsible bastard.
Chapter 5
Layla
I’ve never been so overwhelmed than I am when the girls show up, one after the other, Wyatt and Harold hauling things inside my apartment, filling it with the furniture it would have taken me forever to afford to buy—a full-sized white-spindle bed frame with a box spring and mattress, four-drawer matching dresser and a two-drawer nightstand, a round kitchen table with two chairs, and a three-shelf bookcase—all of which is newer and nicer than the things Steven and I ever had.
Hands clutched together over my heart, I try to thank them for their generosity, but my sobs eat my words. None of them will tell me how much any of it costs either, so I can’t pay them back, which is as stressful as it is kind. Faye, Dolly, and Violet converge around me for a group hug. I don’t even mind all that much that Dolly’s baby bump is pressed to my front.
A knock at the front door and the cold sweep of air when it’s opened has us pulling apart, wiping our cheeks. Jared tips his head in greeting, but I only have eyes for the older man behind him, whom I haven’t seen in a week. Russell looks half wild, his clothing rumpled and his beard grown out longerthan usual.
He almost knocks me off my feet when he pushes past Jared and tugs me out of the group hug so he can wrap his arms around me. “I’m so glad you’re safe, darlin’.”
I freeze, my arms pinned to my sides beneath his, my nose pressed to the sternum of his big, unfamiliar body. Just as I relax into him, he lets go. We make eye contact for a split second before he drops his gaze to his huge boots and steps back.
The group as a whole wears various expressions of surprise, though no one is more surprised than me. Jared breaks the awkward moment when he’s the first to move, embracing his wife. He kisses Violet’s forehead, the tip of her nose, then down to her lips while his hand slides between them to rest on her belly.
“I tell you what, this place was a real poop-box when I lived here,” Wyatt says, admiring the appliances, giving me a wink. “Got a sweet setup now. I’m almost jealous.”
Russell huffs as he makes a loop around the apartment. I watch him from my periphery as he inspects the deadbolt on the door, the doorbell camera that will be synced to my phone, and then the window latches.
Dolly suggests, “How ‘bout we all go out to eat to celebrate your new independence? There’s a delicious Chinese restaurant around the corner from here.”
My stomach rumbles at the thought as the others agree, and Wyatt pats his stomach over his black and gray long-sleeve flannel. He’s the size of a professional football player, height and weight-wise, and the man can put away more food in one sitting than I can in a whole day. It’s honestly impressive.
Coming up with an excuse to get out of it, adverse to the ideaof dipping into more of my savings, I tell them, “I’ll have to take a rain check.” Russell narrows his eyes. “I want to get some things unpacked and organized before work.”
“You’re not on the schedule tonight,” Harold says, his hands in the pockets of his black slacks. Other than the tux he wore for his wedding, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wear anything besides slacks, though he’s traded in the white button-down uniform top for a red argyle sweater.
“I have a shift at the bridal boutique.”
Dolly asks, “You got another job?”
With all eyes on me, I brace for moreyou work too muchandyou need to take a night off every once in a while, even though I never, ever complain. They mean well, but it gets tiresome having to constantly reassure everyone I’m fine.
Violet seems to sense my sinking mood, and she brightens her tone. “Alright, rain check it is. We’ll get out of your hair, but you let us know if you need anything.”
